Throughout the first few weeks of school I, like the other eager freshmen, attended several club meetings to explore the opportunities that Tulane offers us. Most of my clubs met in small classrooms or conference rooms big enough to accommodate around 20 to 30 people. However, when I walked into my very first TUSTEP (Tulane University Service-Dog and Education Program) meeting on September 11th of this year, the room full of students caught me by surprise as the multitude of seats eventually became insufficient for the standing room only crowd. The Instagram account full of TUSTEP’s adorable service-dogs in training motivated me to attend the meeting, but I didn’t realize until recently how important the club is to the Tulane campus and the people who the dogs will help in the future.
The dogs at TUSTEP are from Canine Companions for Independence, which is a nonprofit organization that provides service dogs to better the lives of people with disabilities. Volunteers, like the ones at Tulane, raise the puppies by teaching them obedience skills and socializing them before they go to advanced training. TUSTEP’s puppy raising volunteers play a considerable role in CCI’s mission as they have already raised/are in the process of raising a total of 17 service-dogs! Of course the dogs will fulfill their goals by brightening the lives of people with disabilities in the future, but, at least for now, they brighten the lives of their raisers, members of the TUSTEP club, and the Tulane community in general!
Above: One of TUSTEP’s service dogs in training, Bodie, sitting in class with his owner, Kiersten.
Members of TUSTEP can become certified puppy sitters to help out the puppy raisers when they need a little break. Every post in the Facebook group for a sitter immediately (and I mean within a matter of seconds) gets comments from sitters offering their time to play with the puppies. Every time that I have played with one of the puppies I have felt the stress lifted from my shoulders as I see the them run around Wall Garden after a long day of practicing their skills or look at me like I am a god while I scratch their heads. The sitters respond quickly all hoping to play with a puppy because their adorable and playful attitudes can brighten anyone’s day, which makes TUSTEP one of the best clubs on Tulane’s campus.
Above: Bodie breaking hearts across the world with his cuteness
Raising a puppy for a year and a half and then giving him/her up to become a service dog seems like a challenge considering I grow attached to these puppies after one hour of playing. However, all of the raisers have said that although they will be sad when their puppy leaves, they know their dogs are going to help someone in need and that is reason enough to raise a service dog. Kiersten Rankel, the president of TUSTEP and the proud raiser of Bodie, says that one of her favorite memories of her time as a raiser is meeting a man at the bookstore who told her about a seizure dog that he had gotten because of his life ruining seizures. This dog allowed him to put himself in a safe space before the seizures would come on and he told Kiersten that she and her fellow puppy raisers would never understand the gifts they provide for people with disabilities. “Encounters like that, which I have near monthly, really are what drive me to do what I do with Bodie,” Kiersten said of taking on the responsibility of raising a service dog.
Above: Kiersten and Bodie
When the puppies are not training to become service dogs, they get the chance to let loose and play, which makes the raising experience even more enjoyable! One of Kiersten’s favorite memories of Bodie is watching him run around the house for an hour chasing a cricket and stalking it’s every move before he finally ate it! He also enjoys climbing into her laundry basket when he thinks he’s home alone, which may just be because he is alone in a room and can’t hear Kiersten anywhere. Leslie Howton was another of TUSTEP’s raisers when she raised Ava last year. One of her favorite first memories of Ava is the first time she brought her to class as a puppy. Ava also loved to spend time with her brother, Archer, by celebrating their birthdays together or sightseeing.
Above: Bodie sleeping in the laundry basket
Above: Ava going to class for the first time
Above: Archer and Ava celebrating their first birthday together
Above: Ava and Archer sightseeing
Whether the dogs are training, playing, or napping, they always bring happiness to campus. Because of this, sitters jump at the chance to play with the puppies for any amount of time and the competitive process to become a raiser allows the current raisers to find the best new raisers that they can. With every new class of puppies comes a new group for Tulane to love and cherish on campus and on Instagram, but very soon we say goodbye to a few of Tulane’s favorite service dogs in training. Now that they have learned a lot of their skills, the older dogs are headed to advanced training to learn more about how to help their future partners. I, along with countless other members of the Tulane community, couldn’t be anymore grateful for the happiness they have brought to our lives everyday!
Links to learn more:
Canine Companions for Independence: http://www.cci.org/site/c.cdKGIRNqEmG/b.3978475/k.3F1C/Canine_Companions_for_Independence.htm
TUSTEP: https://tustep.tulane.edu
TUSTEP Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tustep.tulane/